MS 19 – Safety and Maintenance of Masonry Arch Bridges: Diagnostic, Monitoring, Modelling, Risk Analysis and Retrofit Interventions

Assessment, maintenance and rehabilitation represent some of the major challenges in the management of historical Masonry Arch Bridges (MAB) and influence the life-cycle of the infrastructures. This special session promotes a discussion on these aspects considering applications of existing methodologies and development of novel approaches for Structural Health Monitoring, diagnosis, damage detection and modelling, vulnerability assessment (including simplified and detailed numerical modelling) and risk analysis of masonry arch bridges, with respect to any relevant source of hazard, i.e.: traffic loads, earthquakes, flood-induced scour, landslides, long-term creep etc. Finally, the session will also cover research activity, case study, experimental results and numerical analysis outcomes concerning the repair and the strengthening of MABs with traditional or innovative techniques including investigations on the issues of sustainability, environmental impact and life-cycle assessment. The main topics that this special session is intended to collect are, but not limited to: -Life-cycle analysis; -Structural assessment of Masonry Arch Bridges; -Nonlinear behaviour of Masonry Arch Bridges; -Case studies of Masonry Arch Bridges: assessment and repair; -Innovative techniques and advanced materials for the strengthening of Masonry Arch Bridges; -Structural Health Monitoring of Masonry Arch Bridges; -Risk and vulnerability analysis under single and multiple hazards.